Sgt. Adam J. Ray entered the Army in a noncombat role but yearned for the long marches, the weaponry and the front-line missions.

So in April 2008, Ray changed from hospital patient administration to the infantry. He left for Afghanistan with his Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade in July. And on Feb. 9, a roadside bomb killed the 23-year-old Kentucky native.

“His performance” in Afghanistan, the rear detachment commander of 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment said in a memorial service Wednesday, “was nothing short of excellent.”

Ray died in southern Afghanistan as his battalion moved from Kandahar and Helmand province to join the largest offensive operation of the nine-year war. Operation Moshtarak, a joint NATO-Afghan mission to clear Taliban insurgents from the Marjah region, began four days after Ray’s death.
Read more »

Not too much in terms of stories about local service members today. The Times-Picayune of New Orleans writes about Louisiana soldiers — including one from I Corps — enjoying Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl.

And there’s my story about the Marine from Redmond killed in Afghanistan that posted here yesterday afternoon.

A Marine from Redmond died Sunday amid the largest offensive operation of the Afghanistan war.

Lance Cpl. Eric L. Ward, 19, was killed in Helmand province, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. He had been serving with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, N.C..

The actual cause of Ward’s death wasn’t released; the Pentagon press release said he was “supporting combat operations.” His battalion, though, is seeing combat as part of Operation Moshtarak, a joint NATO-Afghan drive to push Taliban fighters out of the Marjah district of Helmand province.

About 15,000 …

Read more »

Joint Base Lewis-McChord will hold a memorial service tomorrow for Sgt. Adam J. Ray, the 23-year-old Stryker soldier killed in Afghanistan on Feb. 9.

The Kentucky native served with 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, a unit of the larger 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He is the fourth soldier from his unit to die in Afghanistan, and the first since a roadside bomb blast killed three soldiers on Sept. 24, 2009.

The Associated Press continues to churn out stories from its embed with 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Meanwhile, here are more local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Logistical Convoy [DVIDS]

17th Fires Brigade
Ice Cream for Soldiers [DVIDS]
Iraqi Army Signal Company Improve Communications Through Joint Training [DVIDS]
Poll Site Overview [DVIDS]

The soldiers of 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment recently helped reopen a school in Diyala province The project, inspired by ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is part of the battalion’s civil affairs mission, part of which we highlighted in a story from Iraq.

Here’s the video:

Plenty of stuff over the weekend, including my story on the logistics of drawing down the American presence across Iraq. (There’s also a sidebar.)

Other local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
In Afghanistan, Sunday Mass on a makeshift altar [AP]
Soldier thinks of wife, home [AP]
Ky. soldier killed in Afghanistan mourned [AP]
Soldier remembered for his everyday gifts [The Courier-Journal]

I Corps
Soldiers work to restore Scouts’ honor in Iraq [The News Tribune]
End of Tour Memorial Ceremony [DVIDS]
Air Cav. Hosts …

Read more »

About 135 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord return home Saturday from a yearlong deployment to Kuwait.

The 513th Transportation Company helped move supplied in and out of Iraq from Camp Arifjan, one of the main logistics hubs in Kuwait. The unit traveled more than 3 million miles of roads throughout Iraq, according to a press release.

The unit, nicknamed the Roadrunner Warriors, also helped move ammunition from Kuwait to help supply American soldiers in Afghanistan.